EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Oregon’s Kelly Graves felt as if his team had just won a playground game of horse.
Watching two teams shoot a combined 34 of 67 from 3-point range will do that to a coach.
“I’ve got players who can’t shoot that percentage in layup line in warmups,” Graves said. “That’s crazy, and it was just one of those nights.”
Satou Sabally scored 22 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 21 points and a career-high 14 assists to help No. 10 Oregon rout Weber State 114-87 on Saturday.
Sabally, a 6-foot-4 German freshman making her first start, was 8 of 11 from the field and made three 3-pointers for the Ducks (7-1). Oregon has won four straight.
The teams were nearly even from beyond the arc, with Oregon hitting 17 of 33 and the Wildcats (5-2) making 17 of 34. By halftime, 38 of the 69 field-goal attempts had been from long range.
Lexi Bando had five 3s in the second quarter for the Ducks and finished with 19 points.
Oregon’s opponents had made just 20.2 percent on 3-pointers through seven games. The Ducks’ last three foes were 6 of 61 (9.8 percent).
Weber State shot holes in those numbers.
“The 3-point shot is a big part of their game,” Graves said, “and we knew coming in that the only way they could beat us was if they were scoring 3 at a time.”
Larryn Brooks was 5 of 9 from long range and led Weber State with a career-best 25 points. Jaiamoni Welch-Coleman added 16 points, and Kailie Quinn had 12.
Oregon pulled away from a 50-41 halftime lead with a 44-point third quarter while shooting 14 of 17 from the field and 12 of 14 at the foul line.
“I thought in the third quarter when we really needed to clamp down defensively, we did and finally got the game in hand,” Graves said.
Ionescu had 14 points in the quarter and finished three rebounds shy of her seventh career triple-double. Her 14 assists tied an Oregon record.
The Ducks shot 40 of 71 overall for 56.3 percent and had a 37-29 rebounding edge with a season-low five turnovers. The Wildcats were 33 of 66 for 50.0 percent.
“I think everyone was confident in shooting the ball and we shot the ball great,” Ionescu said. “It was a great night offensively for us.”
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: Heads into finals week on the quarter system with one more home game before its Dec. 13 visit to No. 6 Mississippi State, last season’s NCAA runner-up to South Carolina.
Weber State: Hosts two games in the next week before embarking on a five-game trip that includes its first three in Big Sky Conference play.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Oregon has been No. 10 for the past three weeks after its preseason ranking of 11th. The Ducks’ highest ranking is ninth during the 1981-82 season.
HE SAID IT
Graves joked that the game reminded him of his predecessor at Oregon, Paul Westhead, who loved to push the pace and shoot 3s during his five seasons coaching the Ducks. “I guess it was a throwback to the previous regime where it was just ’let’s outscore ’em,’” said Graves, now in his fourth season.
STAR WATCH
Ionescu, who had her double-double by early in the third quarter and 10 of her 14 assists by halftime, is one triple-double away from the NCAA career record of seven as a sophomore. She already has two this season. “Coach says I have another 2 1/2 seasons to get that, so I might make you guys wait until my senior year to break that one,” Ionescu said. “I’m all in for the team, so as long as we continue to grow as a team and continue to win, the records don’t really matter personally.
TIP-INS
Oregon junior Maite Cazorla’s streak of 78 consecutive starts ended because an unspecified leg injury. … The 114 points were the most by Oregon since a 122-59 victory over Portland State two years ago during Graves’ second season. … Ruthy Hebard, who sat out the Ducks’ previous game with an ankle injury, had 13 points and four rebounds. … Nine Wildcats attempted a 3-pointer, and six made at least one. They came in shooting 34.2 from the arc. … Weber State is 0-7 against the Ducks.
UP NEXT
Weber State: Hosts Pepperdine on Thursday night.
Oregon: Hosts Southern Utah on Dec. 9 to cap a five-game homestand.
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